Heartbeat
by unwittysidekick
Summary: Takes place during Committed. My attempt to redeem this episode for Chlark fans


Disclaimer: None of this is mine  
Spoilers: Committed, slight one for Toxic  
A/N: This was originally posted on my blog right after the episode Committed first aired and I decided to put it up here too after I set up an account.

_Thank goodness for Oliver._ Chloe thought, her eyes following their captor around the room while another part of her mind was still crying out _I can't believe this is happening._

When she speaks though, asking the man not to do this, it wasn't coming from that fearful part of herself, despite the note of pleading she heard in her voice. Rather, it came from the knowledge that she knew a great many secrets, secrets that mustn't under any circumstances be revealed, and an uncertainty that she hadn't really mastered the things Oliver had tried to teach her.

Things like how to cheat at a polygraph. He had insisted, back when she took up the role of Watchtower on a more regular basis, (even though they both knew that if she was ever in a position where someone was trying to get Justice League secrets out of her, it wouldn't be by them asking nicely while she was hooked up to a machine that assessed the truth of her words by listening to her heartbeat but more likely by torture), and now she was glad that he had. Her mind flashed back to something she had told Clark weeks ago, while Oliver lay on a couch at Isis dying from an as yet unidentified poison. She had told him that whenever Oliver gave an order there was always a reason for it and now she saw that this was another case of that being true even if it wasn't the exact circumstances either of them had envisioned at the time. Because while it was very unlikely that he would manage to stumble into a line of questioning that could implicate the League, her feelings for Clark were another matter all together.

"Have you ever cheated on your fiancee?"

The masked man's question cut off her train of thought and she glared at him, practically growling out her answer "No."

And it was the truth, there was no need to cover a lie answering that question. Despite her feelings for Clark, she would never even consider doing anything with him, or with anyone else for that matter, while she wore Jimmy's ring on her finger.

"Are you in love with someone else?"

Chloe looked at Jimmy and saw the fear in his eyes. And she knew what he expected to hear. A fact that was confirmed when he spoke, telling her not to give their captor the satisfaction. And then _she_ was crying out as the electricity coursed through him, because she had never wanted him to get hurt because of her acceptance of his proposal. Because she really did care about him, very much, even loved him; she just wasn't _in love _with him. That place in her heart belonged to Clark, and always would despite what she had told him just last week after reading the love letter she had written him so long ago.

She had accepted Jimmy's proposal after returning from Montana because of her belief that Clark and Lana were on their way to living happily ever after in the aftermath of her release from Brainiac's control. And since there was no chance of being with the man of her dreams, she'd settled for a man that she only _cared about _because he loved her. But then, barely a day later, she'd found out that Lana was gone, leaving only a Dear John video for Clark, and for a moment she had been tempted, oh so tempted, to break off her engagement. To see if there _was _a chance for her and Clark, now that Lana was permanently out of the picture. But the coldly logical, analytical nature that was now a part of her brain stopped her. Because whether it was an unfortunate side effect of Brainiac's interaction with her meteor ability or a deliberate act on his part, the fact remained that she carried a piece of him around inside her now. And she couldn't help but feel that that would bode ill for Clark someday.  
So she let her engagement stand. A part of her hated herself for stringing Jimmy along like this because she knew he deserved someone who loved him the way that he loved her - wholeheartedly.

She thought she had managed to fool everyone though. But apparently she hadn't managed to fool her cousin. Lois had seen right through her, and in her drunken state, shared that knowledge with everyone at the engagement party. Thank goodness Clark, who did seem to believe her act or at least go along with it, had managed to stop Lois before she said anything else she might have figured out about her younger cousin. Chloe had been almost afraid to look at Jimmy, afraid he would look in her eyes and see the truth of Lois' words. But apparently he didn't need Lois to tell him the truth, if the look on his face was anything to go by, because he already knew, despite her assurances (and yes, the lies were like ash in her mouth every time) that she didn't have feelings for Clark anymore.

All of these thoughts passed through Chloe's mind in seconds, and as the masked man leaned over her pressuring her for an answer, she looked from him to Jimmy and she knew what she had to do.

Concentrating on her breathing and heart rate the way Oliver had taught her, she answered the question.

* * *

A/N: I had planned to have more in there about Chloe beating the lie detector (hence the title heart beat) but it kind of took on a life of its own. Plus, I really don't know how to beat one of those things just that you can if you know how to do it.


End file.
